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A couple of months ago I put out a notice on the Aikido-list about a bulletin board I created about Women in Aikido (the link is below). We have some participation and I finally got rid of the annoying pop ups.

The website itself is not really that expansive. I have little introduction about aikido on, but I'm hardly an authority on aikido. It is just designed to get people to the bulletin board.

If you have any suggestions or comments please let me know. I plan to keep developing both sites until I have something that people really like that is different from AikiWeb and other Aikido related websties.

Anne Marie GiriWomen in Aikido: a place where us gals can come together and chat about aikido.

I just want to thank those who stopped by to give the Women in Aikido bulletin board a look, and thanks to those who have joined.

There is a new forum that is just starting to take shape. It's called "virtual dojo". If the AikiWeb or AikidoFAQ search engines don't help you can post here. It is also just about networking and letting other folks know about your dojo, or you can post asking about a place. Please stop by and let folks know about your school.

Thanks to Jun for putting us on your weblinks portal.

Now...back to training.

Anne Marie GiriWomen in Aikido: a place where us gals can come together and chat about aikido.

Women and Men have different polarities within the body that sometimes make crosstraining with women to men difficult, giving techniques a different feel when done, woman to woman, or man to man.

There is clinical evidence, and testing being done in the field of polarity in the human body as it relates to KI/chi, and its effectiveness in Martial arts techniques. The physical effectiveness is Martial Arts is one thing that can be proved by math, but the actual energy of Ki/Chi is important to correctly train and feel techniques.

There are two or three different studies going on in Pennslyvania, some with Pressure Points, some at hospitals with Accupoints, and then some clinical diagnoses with electrical energy in the body being read as meridian flow by Accupressure people. There are at least three machines that are being used to read energy, where the man's energy is read one side as positive, and on the same side of a women as negative in relation to the chart recordings.

So this means, your teachers should be looking into modifying the techniques for changing Ki in certain situations, or women should train with women to feel the same effect as men training with men.

Those of you who have had no experience with training in Ki/chi, well ... this will become more and more a sore point as clinical evidence becomes more wide spread.

Until machines started to measure energy, Ki/ chi was merely thought to be heating up the blood in a combatant, a myth?

Within the next ten years, it will change the entire training regimen of all martial arts, including Aikido.

No wonder women always put the hurt on men when cross training? OUCH!!!

Originally posted by Bruce Baker
There is clinical evidence, and testing being done in the field of polarity in the human body as it relates to KI/chi, and its effectiveness in Martial arts techniques. <snippety>
There are two or three different studies going on in Pennslyvania, some with Pressure Points, some at hospitals with Accupoints, and then some clinical diagnoses with electrical energy in the body being read as meridian flow by Accupressure people. There are at least three machines that are being used to read energy, where the man's energy is read one side as positive, and on the same side of a women as negative in relation to the chart recordings.

I would be more than happy to discuss this at the discussion board -- Women in Aikido. Men are not restricted from posting there, but is meant to be like a "gals night out" or women just chatting about their aikido experiences.

I would like to hear more about this polarities concept though.

Anne Marie

Anne Marie GiriWomen in Aikido: a place where us gals can come together and chat about aikido.

Women and Men have different polarities within the body that sometimes make crosstraining with women to men difficult, giving techniques a different feel when done, woman to woman, or man to man.

There is clinical evidence, and testing being done in the field of polarity in the human body as it relates to KI/chi, and its effectiveness in Martial arts techniques.

So this means, your teachers should be looking into modifying the techniques for changing Ki in certain situations, or women should train with women to feel the same effect as men training with men.

Its interesting that you make this post Bruce. I have had the privilege of training with male and female aikidoka at yudansha levels that were very capable, I've always felt that their aikido seemed different. I cant quite put my finger on it

It just seems that the way they generate the power and project ki for techniques seems different . IT wasnt any more or less powerful, just different.

To me the ki and power seemed to be more "subtle" for women aikidoka whereas with male aikidoka, the power and ki was more (for want of a better turn of phrase - apologies if this offends) "in your face".

ITs just, that when training with male aikidoka, I was able to anticipate when the locks and throws were coming. For women aikidoka, I was taken by surprise more often and had the "wow where did that come from" feeling. Maybe this accounts for the "ouch" factor.

Anyway, Bruce, your post is very interesting and I hope that you can keep this forum informed of any new developments.

I got sucked into looking for the meaning of moves in kata, then pressure points, then ki/chi flow at a George Dillman Seminar. Once this theorey was put forth, I started to find books and other resources that vaguely comfirmed much of what George was giving at this seminar three years ago.

Then, two years ago, I heard about two different machines being used to diagnose the body ailments with magnetic resonance waves, kind of like the metal detector at the airport but more suffisticated. Not long afterwards, I attend another Dillman seminar and he annouces the polarity of men and women being confirmed by an accupoint doctor using one of these machines at his study camp.

The body is divided into positive and negative sections, looking down from overhead in an X, and down the front center/down the ear making four sections of energy.

Positive, Negative, Positive, Negative. For a man it would be right front, right rear, left rear, left front.

Negative, Positive, Negative, Positive. For a woman it would be the same, start in with negative right front, positive right rear, negative left rear, positive left front.

The implications of positve and negative exchanges of energy, of positive resistence of energy are staggering!

For instance, the right hand of a man is positive open, in a fist negative. The right hand of a woman is negative open while positive in a fist. Looking at the striking points of the body that either positive or negatively charged, correct striking with opposite polarity charges make that spark of pain, while the same charges merely are gentle pushes.

There are many, many more prinicples to be learned to start to understand the effectiveness of polarity and chi/Ki flow. They can be found in Dr. Jwing-ming Yangs books of Chin-Na, and some other Chi healing books, but when I saw the same pressure point areas being used for knock outs that we have in Aikido techniques we already use! I got hooked.

These machines that measure polarity and intensity are like having the first machines that mearsure electricity, volts/ amps/ ohms.

Don't deviate from your practice, but check out some of the ways polarity changes make that little spark come out, and increase your effectiveness. Some times it is just opening an hand, or raising a toe, a heel, or a foot, but it will change the effectiveness of pain on your uke.

Bottom line. Either train only with women, or find another way to make it work? This is one way.

I guess I should get some of the source materials out of my books? Next post.

My library has most of John Stevens books, and other text and video of many of O'Sensei's students. If you start to study the many teachers who were students of O'Sensei, don't forget to find the video with Hikisuchi, Michio sensei in Iwama, video make in 1988. Saito Sensei, the protector of Iwama, comes to teach in America, west coast mostly.

Many books eventually relate to pressure points, manipulation, and use of Chi/Ki. If you see simular uses of these things in Aikido, don't be surprised.

Right now, there is no definitive book of Chi/Ki differentiation for men and women, but with all the studies going on, something should come out soon.

The ever evolving Women in Aikido board has evolved some more...Feel free to check it out if you wish.

A new evolution includes a Women's Only forum (to discuss sensitive issues without male lurking or comment). Yet guys are welcome to participate in other forums so long as you are respectful, and post with restraint.

Also with the help of Brett Denison I was able to get some nice graphics loaded on the page.

Last edited by giriasis : 04-15-2002 at 05:09 PM.

Anne Marie GiriWomen in Aikido: a place where us gals can come together and chat about aikido.